“I normally would never read his texts on air — but the reason I would read this is that he has changed his strategy with me,” he continued. “Yesterday, I think when it happened, he thought, ‘I’m not getting through to him by screaming at him. I’m not getting through to him by writing nasty, threatening texts. I’m going to try a different strategy.’”

The conversation with Cohen referenced Lewis’ recent interactions with Bravo. The network opted not to renew “Flipping Out”, leading to this Instagram response from Lewis.

Lewis: “I wasn’t going after them in any way… Just making fun of the situation.”
Cohen: “Uh-huh… Looks to me like you’re vilifying the network. They usually pick up shows after they finish their season. But maybe you want to let competitors know you are open for business, which you are definitely doing.”
Lewis: [I’m not] vilifying the network… letting competitors know I’m a free agent.”

Lewis: “You’re a very smart guy. I’ll be at WE in no time. I really do like everybody at Bravo. It’s not personal.”
Cohen: “You’re just pissing everyone there off again and making them think Bravo is cancelling the show, which doesn’t make them look good… If you’re doing it to work somewhere else, I get it.”
Lewis: “I’m always open to working with and for Bravo… There is no ill will from me.”

It turns out Cohen heard Lewis reading the texts on-air and sent him another message while Lewis was live on the air. “He just said, ‘You’re an a**hole.’ He said, ‘Don’t ever read my texts on air again. You’re an a**hole,'” Lewis read in defiance.